Is Rahm Micromanaging Treasury?

May 1, 2009

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this piece in the Journal today, but it's definitely interesting:

On Jan. 20, Timothy Geithner took control of the Treasury Department, directing the government's response to the financial crisis.

Within three weeks, the White House tightened its grip, alarmed by the poor reaction to Mr. Geithner's performance during the rollout of his rescue plan, government officials say. Since then, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been so involved in the workings of the Treasury that "Rahm wants it" has become an unofficial mantra among some at the Treasury, according to government officials. ...

Mr. Geithner said White House involvement is critical to the success of the financial rescue, in part because the popular president can help sell the plan to the public. "I made a judgment...that to do this right, we had to have a fully integrated approach," Mr. Geithner said in an interview. "The president's capacity to lay out for the nation and the world a path through this crisis is as essential as everything we're going to do."

On the one hand, one could conclude from this that the White House doesn't really trust Geithner to do his own thing, and that they've marginalized him and are micromanaging Treasury. But that's not really my understanding. My understanding is that Geithner continues to have Obama's ear, and that he doesn't have trouble getting his views heard, etc. It just may be a case of the White House slightly belatedly realizing how much it's success depends on what happens in the building nextdoor. Which would naturally merit a lot of attention from the White House chief of staff.